| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory debt limit | 16394.00 | 41104.00 | 16394.00 | 41104.00 |
| Debt subject to limit | 16393.97 | 39700.41 | 16392.47 | 39704.69 |
subject = DHP + IGH − notSubject + otherSubject; headroom = limit − subject, in $bnDaily DTS Table IIIC: headroom = statutory debt limit − debt subject to limit, where subject = Debt Held by the Public + Intragovernmental Holdings − Debt Not Subject to Limit + Other Debt Subject to Limit (millions → $bn). Days with a suspended limit (published as 0) are omitted. Days when the ceiling binds (headroom ≤ 0) are kept.
As of 7 Aug 2026, the latest readings are Statutory debt limit at 41104.00 $bn, Debt subject to limit at 39700.41 $bn and Debt-limit headroom at 1403.59 $bn. The Statutory debt limit line is up 0.0% over the past year and above its long-run median of 31381.46 $bn.
A large positive headroom means the ceiling is far from binding. A narrowing headroom means the Treasury is approaching the point where extraordinary measures begin. Headroom near zero is the bind / EM-start signal, not the X-date (exhaustion of measures and cash).
The chart plots the statutory debt limit beside debt subject to that limit on the same dollar scale. Headroom is the gap between those two lines and is reported in the stat rail so the small residual does not vanish against a multi-trillion axis.
When Congress suspends the debt limit, the statutory limit is published as zero and this page omits those days rather than inventing a dollar headroom. Extraordinary measures can keep reported subject debt at the ceiling for months while cash is still available. So a flat near-zero headroom is not itself an X-date. Treat the chart as context for fiscal-ceiling risk, not investment advice.
Market desks watch the headroom drawdown daily ahead of a debt-ceiling deadline. The pace of decline, combined with projected cash flows and announced extraordinary measures, informs the X-date estimate.
As of 7 Aug 2026, the latest readings are Statutory debt limit at 41104.00 $bn, Debt subject to limit at 39700.41 $bn and Debt-limit headroom at 1403.59 $bn. The Statutory debt limit line is up 0.0% over the past year and above its long-run median of 31381.46 $bn.
This benchmark is built on daily data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file.
The chart is built from Statutory debt limit, Debt subject to limit and Debt-limit headroom, sourced from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fiscal Data.
Total public debt includes debt not subject to the limit (for example certain unamortized discounts and Federal Financing Bank obligations). This page uses only the debt that falls under the statutory ceiling.
No. Zero headroom means the ceiling is binding and extraordinary measures are in force or needed. The X-date is when cash and those measures are exhausted. Often weeks or months later. And is not directly printed as a negative headroom series.
Daily, from the Daily Treasury Statement Table IIIC.
One tested idea, through the evidence stack. No migration of any kind.